This volume examines European Union policy instruments affecting the urban domain through the lens of Europeanisation.

Instead of looking at EU instruments that are formally consecrated to cities, theoretical public policy analysis explores the arenas and causal mechanisms that structure the encounter between the EU and urban governance.

The core variables that explain change concern the status of actors’ preferences and the payoffs from Europeanisation. Their combination creates a four-dimensional space. We can therefore develop a typology for the modes of Europeanisation that chimes with current theorisations on the EU modes of governance.

Dossi considers four modes of Europeanisation, which he analyses to grasp the essence of EU instruments and initiatives. The eventual Europeanisation of urban systems depends on the nature of strategic interaction, not on the legal ‘tools’ designated explicitly for cities.

'A truly progressive work. By focusing on policy arenas as units of analysis rather than cities or countries, Samuele Dossi uncovers the logic and mechanisms of Europeanisation at work in key domains of European Union policy. A compelling read for those interested in planning, EU public policy and multi-level governance.’Claudio M. Radaelli, director, Centre for European Governance, University of Exeter